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Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Education

Posts by Joe Ventura

A hearty congratulations and a warm welcome to NoRedInk this morning, winners of the 2012 Citi Innovation Challenge! Led by entrepreneurs Jeff Scheur and Leo Shmuylovich, NoRedInk creates content and tutorials from students’ favorite celebrities, friends, and personal interests to help them practice grammar and writing skills. The team will receive a $75,000 prize and the opportunity to join NewSchools Portfolio—the most innovative, promising, early-stage entrepreneurial organizations working to make a difference in public […]Read more

Finding your perfect match can be a grueling experience. Many people on the hunt for their significant other have gone to great lengths to increase their odds of finding Mr. or Mrs. Right, using all available tools in their hunt. They’ll scour OK Cupid or Match.com for apposite partners, use Yelp to find the perfect first date dinner spot, and maybe even use an app for fashion recommendations on what to wear.For […]Read more

NewSchools Policy Director Ben Riley discusses the latest information on the Department of Education’s finalized Race to the Top – Districts competition. Ben discusses how the final rules will affect the education entrepreneurial community. Check out Ben’s previous policy updates on the latest Race to The Top – District competition here and here. Read more

After watching NASA’s rover Curiosity land safely—and with unbelievable panache—on the Martian surface late Sunday evening, I heard a shock jock on a local sports radio show bemoaning the attention the mission was garnering. “I guess I know this is a big deal to some people, but I think we’re going overboard here,” he said. “This must be the way science people feel when they look at how excited we get about […]Read more

NewSchools Policy Director Ben Riley is back with another policy update on the Race to the Top: District grant competition. This week, Ben focuses on the selection criteria the Department of Education will be using to pick winning applications. Read more

Summit 2012 was a day full of inspiring content, honest self-examination, and many constructive conversations. Many Summit attendees were moved to document the day. Here’s a roundup of some of the highlights:A Simple List to Improve Public Education, Joseph DiSalvoNew And Notable At NewSchools 2012, Alexander RussoGetting Smart coverage of NewSchools Summit, Getting SmartAt Summit, A Rallying Cry (Or Echo Chamber?) for New Kind of Reform, Education WeekIs There Really a Movement?, […]Read more

You might not recognize the names of the headliners at Summit 2012. No, I’m not referring to Howard Fuller, Roland Fryer, or even Rahm Emanuel. I’m talking about Donaldo, Juan, Paris, and Javon: students whose stories were featured throughout the day in video, photographs, and the written word.These students, like nearly 15 million other US children, are growing up in households with incomes at or below the federal poverty level. Often, their […]Read more

Entrepreneurs have brought disruptive innovation not just to private enterprise, but to areas of public good from energy to medicine with major benefits to the public. Yet education has been slow to learn from the work of entrepreneurs in other sectors. Extraordinary entrepreneurs focused on key areas of public good, health care, green energy, and food and nutrition share their stories, lessons, and advice. Read more

At Summit 2012, we’ll be taking an honest look about what’s been accomplished by education reformers, as well as what still needs to be done. This important conversation shouldn’t (and doesn’t have to) remain within the walls of the hotel. We encourage you to take part online, to share what you’re thinking, and spread what you’ve learned. Join the conversation on Twitter by following NewSchools (@NSVF) and using the Summit hashtag (#NSVFSummit). To […]Read more

Ben Riley is back with another policy update from the Hill. This week Ben provides an overview of the RESPECT Program, a $5 billion proposal from the Obama Administration aimed at improving and further professionalizing the teaching profession. Learn more about this proposed program below. Read more